Lubricator



Sept 13, 1949. B. MEDHAUG 2,481,856

LUBRIGATOR Filed May 23, 1947 JNVENTOR. BJA RNE MED HAU@ BYQ.

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES Y :PATENT OFFICE Y Y2,481,856 Y LUBRICATOR Bjarne Medhau'g, New York, N. Y. Application May23, 1947, serial No. 750,131

'Ihe present invention relates to lubricators and, more particularly, toa lubricator of the general type disclosed in my co-pending application:Ser. No. 624,557, filed October 25, 1945, now abandoned.

The lubricator referred'to comprises a distributing system designed t-osupply lubricant, such as oil, in cyclic succession to a plurality oflubricating points, means being provided permitting individualadjustment of the amount of oil supplied to each point. In thearrangement described and shown in my above-identified earlierapplication these means included apiston cylinder and a sleeve havingnormally aligned holes, and a plurality of cam members associated withVrespective lubricating points for disaligning said holes to apredetermined extent, the degree of disalignment determining the amountof oil supplied.

One of the principal -objects of the presen-t invention is to provide alubricator of even more simpliiied designand increased efficiency,coupled -with reliable operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide 3a lubricator of thecharacter described,v in which the amount of lubricant supplied to ytherespective lubricating points may befconveniently and Yaccuratelyadjusted.

The above objects, and others which will subsequently become apparent,may be accomplished in accordance with the present invention by theprovision of a buffer member, displaceable during the working stroke ofthe pump piston under -pressure from the lubricant, in combination withmeans for selectively limiting the travel of said buffer member;depending on the setting of the limiting means, the piston will thenforce a larger or smaller amount of lubricant through the appropriateconduits for effecting the desired lubrication.

Y According to a further feature of the invention,

the buier member will also function to insure the the lubricator of Fig.1; Y

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

3 claims. (ci. 184-35) i, 2 ,Y v Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view on line4 4 of Fig. 2, with parts broken away. Y

Figs. 5 and 6 show in perspective View certain members of the pumpmechanism.

Referring rst `to Fig. 1, it will be `seen that the lubricator showntherein comprises a lower casing Il), an upper casing II, and a platformI2 secured by appropriate means such as Vcountersunk screws I2 (Fig. 4)to flanges I3, I4 integral with the two casings. The lower casing I0 isopen at its side, a cover I5 being placed across the opening andbeingprovided with a tubular projection IE to form a bearing for a driveshaft .I "I, A packing gland I8 is secured lto the projectmg end .ofbearing I6 and is lled with suitable packing material I8 (Fig. 2).

The upper casing has a lid I9, secured thereto by a screw 2G in a manneryet to be described, and is further provided with an -oil intake pipe2|. The platform I2 is provided with six circumferentially spacednipples 22, as shown more vclearly `in Fig. 4, these nipples serving toconnect the lubricator to outlet tubes (not shown) serving respectivepoints of lubrication.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it will be seenthat the platform I2 supports a disc 23 which vis similar to disc V31 ofmy aforesaid co-pending application. AThe disc 23 is freely rotatable onthe platform I2 and is pressed thereagainst by a coiled spring 24,acting upon the head of a plunger 25 which, in turn, abuts against the"lower end of screw 20. The latter is screwed into a raisedcentralportion of a horizontal plate 26 which is integral with -the upper`casing II.

The disc 23 is formed with a depending portion Z'I'which is traversed bythe center bore 2B of the disc. Plunger 25 projects into the center bore28 from the top -while a piston 29 enters the bore from the bottom. Thebore 28 communicates with a discharge duct 3U which opens into a,cylindrical chamber 3l, containing a vertically slidable cylinder 32.Cylinder 32 is the buffer member previously referred to. AV steel ball33 is ,placed atop the cylinder, and six adjusting screws 34 held inplace by nuts 34' are positioned in the plate ZIB so as to register withthe steel Iball 33, thereby limiting the-upward movement of the cylinder32. The screws 34 alternate with's'iX fixed pegs 35, serving to insure areturn loisteel ball 33 to its lowermost position. The duct v3l) l isextended at 36 for facultative Icommunication with passages 3lterminating in respective nipv recess 44 wherein rests a shoulder 45 ofa coupling sleeve 46, shown more clearly inFig. 5 which surrounds theportion 21 in concentrical-ly spaced 4 Y WayV above the surface of disc23. As the piston prepares to descend after its Working stroke, the disc23 will rotate to bring the ball 33 into contact with a peg 35 whichwill cam the former intov its lowermost position, excess oil withinchamber 3l being'discharged through opening 36 registering witha'corresponding recess 31.

Although Ythe spring 24 serves to pressthe disc i 23 against platformI2Vat all times, it should be `noted that, according to a furtherfeatureof the invention, there'will be' increased contact between the partssurrounding channels 36 and 31 when-` ever oil is discharged throughthese channels. [This is due to the reactive force developed berelationthereto. A pin 41 projects from the upper` rim of the sleeve 45 andserves for thepositive entrainment of disc 23 by engaging a hole 41providedin the underside thereof. The lower portion .of lsleeve 46 isintegral with or otherwise secured to a bevel gear 48, cooperating witha bevel gear .V49 carried on apin 50. Pin 50 is lodged inthe cover vI5associated withl casing lll. The gear 43 is integral with a pinion- 5Ihaving six teeth; this pinion 5| meshes with'a cogwheel .52 which car-,ries only two teeth, spaced 180 apart, the wheel 5 2 lbeinghi'lxedtothe drive shaft l1. YIt will thus seen that the disc 23 rotatesintermittently as the shaft 1 1 is ,turnedA and, with a transmissionratio of 2:1 between gears 48 and49, half a revo=Y anfangle of 30degrees. Y

A shoe 53, representing a frag-ment of a cyllution of the shaft willadvance the disc through inder, slides up and down in the cylindricalrearV f portion of casing lllvunder the control of the shaft l1. VThewheel 52 is to this end provided with a pin'54 engaging a horizontalrecess 55 Yin the shoe .53, seeuFig. .6. A transverse slot 56, ofinverted T-section, is provided in the top portion `of the s hoe'andengages the ,-head 51 of piston 29. ,Thuseach revolution of shaft I1results in one recirpro'ation oi thevpiston. The operation of thisarrangement will now bewdescribed.

It will be observed that the oilintroduced through intake 2l ,is able topenetrateinto the lower ,casing IG by way of holes -and groove 42; hencethe rotating and reciprocating members Awithin that casing are runningin oil and no separate lubrication ofthe internal mechanismY oft-helubricator is needed. The channel system vlill-,742, 43 alsoV serves toequalize pressures Vduring the reciprocations of piston 29. Thesynchronizatin between gears 48, 4,9 and members 53, 54 is such that'anadvance of disc 23 will take places;

whilevthe piston 29 is substantially in dead center position, and thatduring theworking (upward) rstrok'e the outlet 36 will register withanopening 31 while, during the return stroke, outlet 33 will Ybe, `overone of the recesses 4I.

` The Ysuction ycreated Vby the latter stroke will cause oil from thecasing ll to be drawninto the chamber 28;

after an advance of the disc by 30 degrees the oil will be'forced out bythe ascending piston through the 'passage 3Il and, taking the pathofleast re- IsiStanCe, will first ll the chamber 3| andcause lcylinder 32to rise until the steel ball 33 strikes the end of a respectivescrew'34. Whatever oil z"stillj remains tobe 'displaced by the piston 29will fthenbe ejectedthrough channel 31 and nipple22.

Thusit will be Clear thal'llis possible, bythe proper setting ofscrews-34,- to select the'amount Eof oil delivered by-thefpiston 29v ineach lubricat- 'ing position. ltshould be noted that-th'eba'll33"shou1d1never bepermitted tolriseimore than half- ,40' lto those skilledin the art.

tweenY disc `273 and cylinder 32 as the steel ball abuts'against a screw34. It is to'be noted that the oil i'llmoriginally existing on thesurface of portion4 39, surrounding a hole 31, will counteract'Vthis'lforce and, through channel 36, will be under the same specificpressure as the cil within cham` .ber 3|. From `these ,considerations itwill appear that the crosssectional area` Aof` chain-ber 3l shouldrbelarger than the surface of each raised portion 33, bounded bygroovesandgdso that the hydraulic pressure developed during the up- Y wardstroke :of thepiston willreadilydisplace the Vfoil lm and cause a iirmadhesionbetween the cpoperating portions of` members V'I2-and 23. v

(It:V Wil-l be appreciated that additional features suche -as the visual'indicators described -in aforesaid cio-.pending applicationimay beincorv.porated in the lubricator according to 'the .present invention,yandthat many modifications o :the Yarrangement herein disclosed will bepossible without depertuifenom the spietati@ scope gf Y ith@ invention,flbus, with@ suitable @hengel-n 'thefgearing thcKl-ubricator may be`adapt to Sew? ,any numbff; lublatYlgPQt? ,and 0L er Vadaptations andmodifications will readily'foccur Y i Wh'atIr claim as novel, anddesirel to; seculre @by Lettersratenuis therfoildw-iag:

Y 1. In a lubricator of thecha in combinatiom a housing containinga-lubricant, .a platiorm forming par-t offsai Aklinisinbf,V`

piston, va buffer. -rnereliwlv-VV dsplaceabl v Chamberi formed la said,disc said Cl` c f coupling `means zbetweensaid-slee-vegand sa I a rstgearesecuredtosaidf sleeve,1-a.second Y.rotatably: secured4 totha-housingand meshing" with said-frstsear.,.means-forintermittently1i@- tatinesaid; second eeansaid; meanS-.inclndine-s-a shaft projectinginto the housing, axcoglwheel secured to :said fshartiand .=provided;with fa:.5pair of ,diametricallyi opposite; l'.eetlfl,- fanolea',pinilon `'secured to saidsecoridilgearfand positioned"for operativeengagement withl said :teeth :fmeans for reciprocating: said1pistcn,fsaidz.rneans; including Sapin carried eccentricallyvunpaidsl'lata:antifa slidable member operatively .connectedvwith said`pistonl and engagedbysai'dlpinnthe arrangement vbeing such that"theLc'hannel fsystemlwithin l:said f disc will communicate with one `ofVsaid;iou-tletsY duringa compression strlokema'nd jwith. thei'interiorlof the housing during-a-isuction:stroke'lcff the"piston,andadju'stablefmeans individuali-to a respective` outlet forSelectiwelylimit'ingzthentravel of said buffer -rn'emberiuriderpressureiro'mthe racter described, Y

lubricant, whereby a controllable amount of lubricant will be dischargedthrough the said outlet.

2. In a lubricator of the character described, in combination, a housingcontaining a lubricant, a platform forming part of said housing, saidplatform having a plurality of outlets, a reciprocable piston, a discwithin said housing rotatable relative to said platform, said dischaving a central attachment forming a cylinder for said piston, acylindrical buffer member displaceable within a chamber formed in saiddisc, said chamber being open at the top toward the interior of thehousing, a metal ball resting on said buller member so as partially toproject from said chamber, said disc further containing a channel systemcommunicating with said chamber and with said cylinder, mechanism forintermittently rotating said disc whereby the channel system willalternately communicate with respective outlets and with the interior ofthe housing, means for reciprocating the piston in synchronism with saidmechanism whereby a compression stroke Will occur when the disc is atrest with the piston cylinder connected to one of said outlets, meansfor limiting the travel of said buffer member under pressure from thelubricant, said means including a plurality of adjusting screws eachsecured to the housing so as to register with said metal ball wheneversaid channel system communicates with a respective outlet, and means forreturning said buffer member to its lowermost position, said meansincluding a plurality of xed members positioned for camming engagementwith said metal ball whenever said channel system communicates with theinterior of the housing.

3. In a lubricator of the character described, in combination, a housingcontaining a lubricant, a horizontal platform forming part of saidhousing, said platform having a plurality of outlets, a reciprocablepiston, a horizontal disc within said housing rotatable relative to saidplatform, said disc having a depending central portion forming acylinder for said piston, a plunger entering the bore of said cylinderfrom above, means including said plunger and a coil spring surroundingsaid plunger for pressing said disc onto said platform, a cylindricalbuffer member displaceable within a chamber formed in said disc, saidchamber being open at the top toward the interior of the housing, ametal ball resting on said buier member so as partially to project fromsaid chamber, said disc further containing a channel systemcommunicating with said chamber and with said cylinder, a rotatablesleeve concentrically surrounding said depending portion, a pin couplingsaid sleeve to said disc, a first bevel gear secured to said sleeve, asecond bevel gear rotatably secured to the housing and meshing with saidfirst gear, means for intermittently rotating said second gear, saidmeans including a shaft projecting into the housing, a cogwheel securedto said shaft and provided with a pair of diametrically opposite teeth,and a pinion secured to said second gear and positioned for operativeengagement with said teeth, means for reciprocating said piston, saidmeans including a pin carried eccentrically on said shaft and a slidablemember operatively connected with said piston and engaged by saideccentric pin, the arrangement being such that the channel system withinsaid disc will communicate with one of said outlets during a compressionstroke and with the interior of the housing during a suction stroke ofthe piston, means for limiting the travel of said buffer member underpressure from the lubricant, said means including a plurality ofadjusting screws each secured to the housing so as to register with saidmetal ball whenever said channel system communicates with a respectiveoutlet, means for returning said buffer member to its lowermostposition, said means including a plurality of fixed pegs positioned forcamming engagement with said metal ball whenever said channel systemcommunicates with the interior of the housing, and means for preventingthe return of lubricant into the housing through the said outlet.

BJARNE MEDHAUG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

